Five-Star Review -- Dr. Glenn Buttermann…read more
There are doctors you see, surgeons who operate on you, and then there are physicians who genuinely change the trajectory of your life. Dr. Glenn Buttermann is the latter.
I have been Dr. Buttermann's patient since 2017, and over the course of nearly a decade, I have trusted him with something extraordinarily difficult to entrust to another human being--my spine, my mobility, my independence, and ultimately a significant part of my quality of life.
My spinal history has been anything but simple. Through years of changing and increasingly complex cervical and lumbar problems, multiple surgeries, setbacks, recoveries, frightening symptoms, and some incredibly difficult periods physically, Dr. Buttermann has remained the physician I trust.
What distinguishes him is not simply his surgical skill--although my experience has given me enormous respect for his ability as a spine surgeon. It is the combination of expertise, judgment, confidence, honesty, and humanity that he brings to his patients.
He has never made me feel like I was simply another spine, another MRI, another procedure, or another name on an operating schedule. He listens. He explains. He answers questions. He takes concerns seriously. Most importantly, I have always felt that the decisions surrounding my care were made thoughtfully rather than casually.
When someone is operating millimeters away from structures responsible for your ability to walk, move, feel, and function, trust is not a small thing. It is everything. I trusted Dr. Buttermann enough to return to him again when my spine required further intervention, and I cannot think of a stronger endorsement of a surgeon than that.
There have been moments during this journey when pain dramatically limited my everyday life and my future felt frighteningly uncertain. Having a surgeon whose competence I genuinely trusted gave me something incredibly valuable during those moments: hope that there was still a path forward.
After learning that Dr. Buttermann is retiring, my first reaction was genuine happiness for him--and my second was selfishly thinking, Wait... you're not allowed to retire. I'm not finished having a spine yet.
Nearly ten years after becoming his patient, it is difficult to adequately express my gratitude for what his work has meant to me and my family.
Dr. Buttermann, thank you for the years you dedicated to your patients, for the enormous responsibility you willingly carried every time you entered an operating room, and for the difference your skill has made in my life. There are pieces of your work that I will quite literally carry with me for the rest of mine.
Five stars doesn't really cover it.
Congratulations on an extraordinarily well-earned retirement.